Using PEARLS to talk with and help your patients
Empathy
Not to be confused with pearls in medicine (small bits of information), PEARLS is a method that doctors can use to communicate with patients.
While there are different approaches to speaking with and guiding patients, PEARLS offers a framework that:
- A addresses patient feelings and emotions
- B addresses the patient-doctor relationship
PEARLS, used in a communication sense, is:
Partnership
Empathy
Apology/Acknowledgment
Respect
Legitimation
Support
Following partnership, empathy is a key factor when communicating with patients.
What is Empathy
Empathy is showing a shared sense of feeling.
A dictionary definition would be the ability to share and understand the feelings of another person.
In other words, to put oneself in another’s shoes – to experience what the other person experienced.
It is showing that the patient is cared for – that the patient is not alone in the struggle, whatever it may be.
For the patient, you – as the doctor – might be the only person that he or she can talk to about their medical problem, or any problem, for that matter.
It is important to show that you are
- Willing to listen
- Show that you care
- Understand their experience
Your patient will be more likely to speak with you in a more open and honest manner.
Your patient will be more likely to follow your recommendations – treatment plans, lifestyle changes – if he or she has a connection with you.
Your patient will more likely listen to you about what is going on, rather than just play-acting to get his or her medicine and go.
What the difference is between empathy and sympathy
It is easy to get confused between empathy and sympathy.
They both have the same root word, which is from Greek
Pathos – suffering or feeling
Where empathy is sharing the feeling of another person, sympathy is showing pity or sorrow for someone else.
Sympathy is to be avoided when dealing with a patient.
A patient does not want someone to show pity and to feel sorry for him or her.
With sympathy, a doctor can simply decide on a course of action without thought given to the patient’s needs and wants and circumstances.
Sympathy can build a wall between you and your patient. Sympathy does not build support.
Ways to build empathy
Empathy can be built in several ways.
One thing to do is to listen.
Listening to what the patient says – or does not say – is important.
From listening, you can then proceed to ask questions.
When asking questions, try not to use I.
I statements focus on you as the doctor. Remember that you want to help the patient overcome his or her problem.
Your tone should go along with the tone of the patient; in other words, you should match the patient’s tone and speed, and not go too quickly. Doing so, you might miss some opportunities to get important information.
Phrases that might help
It must be difficult for you to talk about it.
Please take your time. I am here to listen to you.
That must be painful/stressful for you.
At any point, please stop me if you are not feeling comfortable with anything today, okay?
What you went through is really incredible/tough/difficult/challenging.
You are going to get better, and we are here to help.
With all these phrases, intonation is also important. Again, matching the tone to the patient will convey that you are listening to the patient and that you care about her or him.
Case Study
Let us look at the following case study.
- A 22-year old female comes to the clinic.
- She has trouble sleeping.
- She is a college student, and is under a lot of pressure from her family to succeed.
Here are some possible phrases.
You are quite motivated to succeed in college, I see.
It sounds like you are facing lots of challenges right now.
How are you feeling about everything right now?
It seems that you are doing the best that you can.
Sleep is also important for your body and mind to rest and recover.
PEARLS Assignment Practice
As each patient will have his or her own worries and fears, in addition to medical problems, it is important to consider how best to show empathy.
For you, please think about how to build empathy with the following patients listed below.
A 74-year old widow/widower who has trouble sleeping
A 32-year old man who uses recreational drugs
A 22-year old woman who is is pregnant
Each patient has his or her own emotional ups and downs to deal with. How can you best help each person?
Remember that empathy shows a connection with people. Sympathy does not.
PEARLS is a way to connect with and give your patient that best care possible.
In this series: Part 1, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6
This article is not about medical treatment. It is about communicating with patients in English. It is an explanation about the PEARLS concept, and is not an opinion of the company and the author.
